Risk Assessment of Chemical Pollution of Industrial Effluents from a Soap Production Plant

The MEWOU river, which crosses the town of Bafoussam, is one of the main sources of drinking water and irrigation for the populations who live there. It is subject to intense agricultural and industrial activity all along its banks. Soap and refined oil factories generate pollution in the form of liquid effluents which are discharged without any form of treatment. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of soap factory effluent discharges on the quality of the surrounding water. In total, seven samples were analyzed during March, April, and May of the year 2021. The results we obtained were analyzed according to the regulatory requirements recommended by the Directives for the quality of drinking water and the Algerian standard relating to the limit values of the physico-chemical parameters. The results we obtained showed signs of significant pollution in particular: chemical oxygen demand (COD: 125.32-959 mg.L-1), 5 days-biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5: 23-99 mg.L-1 ), turbidity (2-520 NTU), TDS (130-13430 mg.L-1), Nitrite (4.96-21327.44 mg.L-1) and many other parameters greatly exceed those required by the international standard, we also noted strong pollution with heavy metals: chromium (35.76-1381.08 mg.L-1), lead (0.21 - 2.49 mg.L-1), iron (0.28- 17.82 mg.L-1), and cadmium (0.03-0.19 mg.L-1) which are above the values prescribed by the WHO. These highly polluted effluents released into the natural environment are harmful to the environment, biodiversity, and human health. This state of affairs requires urgent intervention to preserve the ecological balance. Otherwise, it can constitute a risk for public health in the short term by deteriorating the quality of the underground reservoir known as the main source of water supply for neighboring populations.